A convicted fraudster tried to pressure Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) to convince her husband — a U.S. Attorney — to dismiss the case against him in return for a political favor for the congresswoman.

Instead, Hochul’s campaign informed the FBI after being approached by James Lagona on Nov. 2. FBI agents then secretly taped Lagona’s meeting with one of Hochul’s campaign staffers the following day.

Lagona pled guilty on Tuesday to one count of “endeavoring to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice.” He faces a possible 10-year jail term and $250,000 fine when sentenced in March.

Lagona had been convicted in Feb. 2011 on 27 counts of felony mail fraud, and he was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3 on that separate matter. Lagona’s case is being handled by William Hochul, the U.S. Attorney Western District of New York.

According to a statement from the Justice Department, Lagona approached Kathy Hochul’s campaign on Nov. 2 and “claimed that he had been involved in discussions with the political party of Rep. Hochul’s election opponent, and falsely claimed that the opponent’s party was interested in featuring him in an advertisement or rally to claim wrongful prosecution and religious persecution. He told the campaign staffer that he would instead publicly support Rep. Hochul, if her spouse, Western District of New York U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr., dismissed the criminal case against him.”

DOJ added: “Lagona admitted to meeting with the campaign staffer a second time on Nov. 3, 2012. During the meeting, which was covertly recorded by the campaign staffer under the FBI’s supervision, Lagona admitted to specifying that he sought a ‘quid pro quo’ in exchange for refusing to campaign with the party of Rep. Hochul’s opponent and for publicly supporting her instead. Lagona admitted he told the staffer that in exchange he wanted his case dismissed and for no further charges to be brought against him.”

Lagona later called the staffer back to follow up on his meeting, prosecutors added. There is no evidence that Hochul or her campaign ever had intention of making any agreement with Lagona, or that Republicans were at all aware of what he was doing.

With his guilty plea on Tuesday, Lagona’s sentencing in the fraud case has been postponed until next year.

Rep. Hochul’s office did not comment on the case.

Hochul won a hotly contested special election in May 2011 to replace former GOP Rep. Christopher Lee, who resigned after admitting to send a partially nude picture of himself to someone who met on the Internet.

She was defeated on Election Day by Republican Chris Collins, ending her short congressional career.